Hairpins and their use is well known and commonly disclosed in the prior art. Moreover, this crowded art offers various shapes and sizes for addressing widely different objectives. Some of these prior art devices have designs comprising clips that clamp on to the hair. Other designs, have features and characteristics that include moving components designed to secure parts of the hairpin against each other. Typically, hairpins comprise a single component, but some designs comprise several interacting components.
Examples of known prior art hairpins include U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,547 to Williams, which discloses a hairpin for gripping and placing the hair of a user against the head of the user. The hairpin is constructed from a strand of wire formed from a resilient material having a first leg and a second leg joined together by a first bend. The first leg has a second bend disposed near a free end of the first leg, such that a third leg is defined between the second bend and the free end of the first leg. A total length of the first and third legs is generally equal to a length of the second leg. The first, second and third legs lying generally in the same plane. The third leg is a smaller leg for allowing a user to handle the hairpin while the first and second legs are used to secure the hairpin to the user's hair.
Another example of known hairpins includes U.S. Patent Publication 2007/0256702 to Traver et al., which discloses an apparatus that includes a first arm, a second arm, a first locking member, and a second locking member interconnected to one another to form a space for receiving hair and to secure the hair within the space. The first locking member and the second locking member may be overlapped to close an opening and secure the hair within the space.
Yet another example includes U.S. Pat. No. 1,594,933 to Durand, which discloses a hairpin having one end formed into a loop, and having two opposite members substantially parallel to each other and implementing a leg turned backwards into a hook parallel with an axis of the leg.
Yet another example includes U.S. Patent Publication 2006/01744909 to Vestal et al., which discloses a hair pin that includes a first leg, a second leg, and opening, and a connecting portion connecting the first and second legs at their respective second ends. The first leg including a first set of undulations extending over a majority of the first leg, and the second leg including a second set of undulations extending over a majority of the second leg. The opening is disposed between first ends of the first and second legs and receives strands of hair when the hair pin is in an open position.
Other known examples include: U.S. Pat. No. 2,664,899 to Attias; U.S. Pat. No. 3,194,248 to Callies; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,337,377 to Wilson.
Known devices such as those briefly described above, offer different alternatives at securing a wearer's hair, but each has one or more shortcomings. For example, some of these devices are configured to clip securely onto themselves, which may facilitate a locking means, but are often unreasonably difficult to place within the wearer's hair. Moreover, such complicated hairpins are typically expensive to manufacture. Other designs don't accommodate a variety of hairstyles because of their particular structure. Yet other designs have structural features that actually damage the hair by, for example, unnecessarily pulling on the wearer's hair strands. Most problematic, is that prior art hairpins do not secure a wearer's hairstyle during prolonged periods of time, especially during which a wearer may be active—for example during activities such as dancing, prolonged formal events, etc.
Therefore, there exists a previously unappreciated or inadequately-met need for a new and improved hairpin that: secures the hair of a wearer in a manner that preserves the wearer's hair style during more strenuous activates; secures the hair of a wearer in a manner that preserves the wearer's hair style for a prolonged period of time; is easily placed within a wearer's hair; does not unnecessarily damage a wearer's hair while being placed therein, and or during use of the hairpin; and may be manufactured efficiently and in an inexpensive manner. It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.